emergencies! 033
WADA Natsumi ‘tacit creole’

December 19, 2017–March 11, 2018

emergencies! 033
WADA Natsumi ‘tacit creole’

Outline

‘tacit creole’ consists of three works made in collaboration with persons that depend on different perception systems. The works are presented in the form of an experiment to verify whether the world can be constructed/configured from scratch based on aspects as perceived and memorized by these collaborators.

“altag,” an acoustic/haptic labyrinth to be experienced by the senses of touch and hearing only, is a work in which touching objects that are located based on sounds reveals aspects that are different from those we perceive by the sense of vision. “an image of” consists of three experimental videos themed around memory and imagination. In these works, things in our memory and imagination that are difficult to verbalize are immediately expressed as if tracing objects with the hands. In “Signed,” visitors can experience “individual style” through speech that is generated by way of hand signs in front of a mirror device.

According to Michael POLANYI’s explanation of “tacit knowledge,” things we aim to know or learn are divided into those that can be verbally expressed, and others that we cannot put into words, whereas it is said that the latter are in majority. This exhibition visualizes an imagined world based on the idea of reviewing and redefining our own individual perception, understanding and connection to the things around us. Another intention behind these works and their archiving is to reflect on possibilities of creolization* in reference to tacit knowledge.

*This term refers to the creation of a language (Pidgin) for speakers without a common language to communicate with each other, which is then further developed and ultimately becomes the native (Creole) language of a certain community.

Artists

WADA Natsumi

Born 1993. Grew up with sign language as her first language, and became fascinated by the possibilities of expressing things with one’s hands once again when entering university. While conducting research in the field of visual body language at the Graduate School of Keio University, she continues to engage in collaborative projects with persons with different kinds of physical conditions, with the aim to explore their respective ways of perception. Certified “Super Creator” in the Exploratory IT Human Resources Project (MITOH Program) in 2016.